The Jannik Sinner doping case and what the players' reaction says about tennis

On Tuesday, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that it had sanctioned world number one Jannik Sinner for testing positive twice for clostebol, an anabolic steroid and banned substance. It also announced that an independent tribunal convened by the ITIA had reviewed its investigation into Sinner's doping case and found that the Italian bore “no fault or negligence”.

The ITIA stripped Sinner of his ranking points, prize money and results from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, where the first positive test occurred on March 10. The second occurred on March 18. Sinner was provisionally suspended after both tests – as required for an adverse analytical result (AAF) for an unspecified substance. In both cases, Sinner appealed the suspension and an independent panel convened by the ITIA reviewed and upheld the appeal, allowing him to continue playing.

“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that I comply with the ITIA anti-doping program and I have a team around me that is very conscientious about complying with its own regulations,” Sinner said in a statement on Tuesday.

All of these actions follow the rules of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP). But that has not calmed the anger of Sinner's teammates.

“Different rules apply to different players,” said Canadian Denis Shapovalov. “I can't imagine how all the other players who were banned for contaminated substances feel now,” he wrote a minute earlier.

Shapovalov expressed his disdain for the handling of the case (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Frenchman Lucas Pouille said: “Maybe they should stop playing us for fools, right?”

Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, said: “Whether it was accidental or planned. If you get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance … you should be gone for two years.”

American player Tennys Sandgren added: “This is ridiculous. Used steroids through a massage?? The ATP is always looking for its money makers. Good for business, bad for transparency and integrity.”

Perhaps most telling was the opinion of Tara Moore. The ITIA provisionally suspended Moore in May 2022 after she tested positive for the anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone. Moore, like Sinner, appealed her provisional suspension, but her explanation was not accepted. Moore was subsequently banned from playing for 19 months, but was exonerated when an independent tribunal convened by the ITIA ruled that she bore no fault or negligence for the positive test. It found that contaminated meat was the cause of her positive tests.

“I guess only the image of the top players counts. I guess only the opinion of an independent tribunal on the top players is considered to be well-founded and correct. Yet they are questioning it in my case. It just doesn't make sense,” she said.

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The example of Moore and her feelings go to the heart of the reaction to Sinner's case. Even though the trial was conducted according to ITIA protocol and comparing different cases is of little use, it reinforces the suspicion that double standards are widespread in tennis. When these feelings concern doping and sporting integrity, they inevitably come to light.

The best players have a favorable schedule, receive entry fees at certain tournaments, and are listened to more attentively when complaining about a particular issue. Players largely know and accept this, and also the fact that the top players have earned their status. Elite players win matches, tournaments, and prize money. They are a major draw for spectators and television networks. The sport of tennis benefits from superstars, as the overall investment and interest in the sport largely depends on their presence.

That's not to say there isn't resentment, however, even in situations that have nothing to do with perceived cheating or sporting integrity. Take the French Open this year, for example, when bad weather in the first week meant most players had to battle through matches that were constantly postponed and rescheduled because of rain. The best players, however, were sent to covered show courts each day and glided through the early rounds without such worries.

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In Sinner's judgment, the comments made by some players reveal a sense that a superstar is treated differently in the sport's most controversial area. Much of the frustration stems from a persistent feeling that tennis's governing bodies are pandering to top players, from the umpires during matches to the ATP and WTA tours.

In the statement announcing Sinner's punishment, ITIA Executive Director Karen Moorhouse said: “We take every positive test extremely seriously and will always apply the strict procedures set out by WADA.”

“The ITIA has conducted a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the positive tests. Mr. Sinner and his representatives have cooperated fully.”

When Maria Sharapova returned from her 15-month doping ban for a positive meldonium test in 2017, she was given a wildcard into the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The tournament even delayed the conclusion of its first-round matches so that Sharapova, whose ban expired on a Wednesday, could take part in the event.

“This is not OK,” said Barbora Strycova, another player who was banned for six months after testing positive for the stimulant sibutramine, which she believed came from a weight-loss supplement.

Sharapova in the semifinals of this tournament (Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images)

“She's Maria and what can you do? I'm not going to get upset about it. Actually, I'm a bit shocked about what happened at the tournament in Stuttgart, but I can't change it, so I'm not going to think about it.”

It's easy to understand why players – whether Moore, who has submitted to the ITIA's investigation, or other ATP players – have similar feelings about Sinner's case. Moore and Simona Halep, who was provisionally suspended in October 2022 for testing positive for roxadustat, also appealed their mandatory provisional suspensions. Sinner was successful, but Moore and Halep were not, and the rejection of their appeals was the catalyst for the public announcement of a provisional suspension. Moore missed 19 months. Halep missed the same period but returned after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) retroactively reduced her four-year suspension (imposed by the ITIA) to nine months. The CAS did not provide full written reasons for the reduction.

In the meantime, Marco Bortolotti, an Italian doubles player with a career-high ranking of No. 87, escaped suspension this year because, like his compatriot, it was agreed that he was not at fault or negligent regarding his AAF for Clostebol.

Two other Italian players, Matilde Paoletti and Mariano Tammaro, then 17, tested positive for clostebol in 2021. The same process followed – mandatory provisional suspension, appeal, investigation, explanation, tribunal. Paoletti was found “no fault or negligence” but Tammaro was banned for two years. Different cases had different outcomes. Another Italian, Stefano Battaglino, was banned for four years last November after testing positive for clostebol and an independent tribunal found the anti-doping rule violations were intentional.

Moore (left) returned to the WTA Tour this year (Tom Dulat/Getty Images for LTA)

In terms of the nature of the investigation, the cases inevitably differ in their evidence and complexity. This does not diminish the impression that the players are being treated differently or that Sinner has escaped what Moore, Halep (two-time Grand Slam winner and former world number 1) and other players have had to endure. One of the advantages of being an elite name in tennis certainly plays a role here: financial access to prompt legal aid and the ability to mobilise resources quickly. The players' reactions are directed against Sinner because he is the player in question, but ultimately they are showing their feelings about the systems of tennis.

The result is that Sinner will play in the US Open starting Monday, where he will likely get the most comfortable schedule and all the other privileges afforded to the top players. How his fellow pros will receive him remains to be seen.

(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)